FLASH NEWS
"The old women are shaking" - Learn the truth behind the myth's history
2025-04-07 07:56:09 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
According to stories passed down from generation to generation, weather changes at the beginning or end of March are related to the "myth of the old women." It happens that even during April, we have snowfall.
In some regions of the Albanian lands, this myth is remembered at the beginning of the month when March borrowed days from February, which also explains why February is the shortest month.
While for other provinces, it is remembered in the last two days of March.
"Plakat" is still used today, as we often hear it said that "it's cold because there are old people".
According to Albanian tradition, the old woman had gone to the mountains to graze her cattle and, seeing the warm, sunny weather, said: "Now I will graze my cattle for fun, to give...to get rid of the winter."
At this moment, March said: "Shortly, my brother, lend me three days to set up the old woman with everything."
Soon after, it became so cold that the old woman froze with all the cattle on the mountain, turning into a rock.
Mount Tomorr is the place where the old woman stood with her cattle, from the days that March borrowed.
Tradition even says that in that place today there is a stone in the shape of an old woman, where even to this day, water springs from, which is said to be the old woman's tears.
Thus was born the legend of the so-called "March Plates", which today is used as a metaphor to divide the winter season from the spring season, namely between March 14 and April 14, where April 14, according to legend, marks March 1, the arrival of the flower season.
This legend is known almost throughout the Balkans and other countries of the world.
Regardless of how true it is, the "old woman myth" is still used today, and meteorologists admit that the final three days of March according to the "Alla Turka" calendar have brought cold and rainy weather.
While April, as always, comes with good weather.
4 VERSIONS OF THE LEGEND
However, the legend of the cold days of March has several versions and below are some of the most important ones, in abbreviated version...
The weather is getting warmer. An old woman takes her cattle to graze on the mountain. Pleased with the warm weather, the old woman says: “Winter, you took my bad luck, I’ll throw it away this year too.”
Winter heard her and sent snow and a storm, freezing the old woman on the top of the mountain.
2. The old men of March are seven.
Seven old women took the wool of their cattle and went out to a meadow to spin it.
While chatting with each other, one of the old women sang a song to the month of Mars, telling it that now it was winter and he (Mars) would take the evil from it. All the old women sang the song in turn. Mars heard them and froze all seven.
They say that the old women have become hardened, and every year in March it rains heavily for seven days in a row, and snow falls in the mountains.
3. From the north they say that the mulleza (a type of bird) hatches chicks as early as March.
Happy with the warm weather, she also began to curse March: "The bird has hatched, March has brought us evil, March has brought us evil...
This month, March froze with all the birds in the nest. The number of the heron with her birds is seven, which corresponds to the number of the old women.
This indicates a twinning of the story. Likewise, both the old woman and the young woman were in black. The old woman in black robes and the young woman in black feathers.
4. When the old women said to March, "You take the trouble from us," March got so angry that he said, "February (or April?) my brother, lend me two days, so that I can dry the old women with everything they have..."
Happening now...
Rama-Berisha Bazaar, opposite Lulzim Basha!
Nga Bato Kosova
ideas
top
Alfa recipes
services
- POLICE129
- STREET POLICE126
- AMBULANCE112
- FIREFIGHTER128